NASA's New Horizon Begins Pluto Encounter

NASA's New Horizon began one of many approach configuration, as it closes with a flyby of  Pluto. 

These will culminate July 14 with the first close-up flyby of the dwarf planet, 4.67 billion miles  from Earth.

Since New Horizons launch in January 2006 - It has voyaged more than 3 billion miles.  It was awakened last month for its close pass to Pluto and inside the orbits of its five known moons.

The heavy duty science will begin this spring.  This will be the time when the cameras and spectrometers aboard New Horizons will be able to provide image resolutions higher than the most powerful telescopes on Earth. Eventually, the spacecraft will obtain images that scientists hope will be good enough to map Pluto and its moons more accurately than achieved by previous planetary reconnaissance missions.

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-s-new-horizons-spacecraft-begins-first-stages-of-pluto-encounter/